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20th December 2016
12:10am GMT
Looking for a decent restaurant that has proper wheelchair accessibility is a quest fit for a knight. Very few that serve up proper slop actually have the facilities needed to make for an enjoyable evening. So when you find a restaurant that A) serves top notch nosh and B) has room for a chair as well as a wheelchair bathroom and a relatively flat entrance, you have hit the mother load.
Here's a selection of Dublin restaurants that serve quality food and quality access in equal measures.
Feargal Sharkey once sang "a good heart is hard to find" but what he really meant is that a good Italian in Ireland is incredibly difficult to find. Their award-winning pizzas have that homemade feel that the likes of Dominos and Four Star seem to exterminate from step one (Dominos will always be my number one hangover cure though).
Their Bellissima Udine topped with fennel sausage and roasted potato is bleedin' delicious and you will have to knife off grabby hands that have serious food envy.
Their cioccolatissimo dessert deserves special mention as it literally explodes in taste. As soon as your fork pierces the hot chocolate soufflé, its gooey insides mixes with the vanilla ice cream is the most beautiful vanilla chocolate swirl.
Although Manifestino seems like it's a narrow restaurant, they actually have a large enough wheelchair bathroom. There are no steps in or out of the venue and every table has moveable chairs. The only difficulty that could arise is a lack of space to move through when the place is full.
I am new to Honest to Goodness and I can honestly say that it was what was missing in my life this entire time. They serve up godly sandwiches here that are chockablock with fillings for the meat lovers, veggies or those that are in between.
Hearty is the best way to describe their food and the wipe board menu boards mean that you can be as picky or as precise with your order.
HTG recently moved to a new venue on Dame Court and they fully took on board the needs of their customers that use wheelchairs. It's spacious and clutter-free - they even have a low level till so you're not stretching to pay or use the card machines. Their wheelchair bathroom is also huge so you won't have to put your esteemed parallel parking skills to test.
Pho Viet can confidently describe itself as Dublin's best Vietnamese restaurant. For extremely reasonable prices, you get a generous portion of food that's difficult to pronounce but easy to devour. They have a wide range of curries for the less adventurous and for those with a palette that swings Asian, as their name indicates, their Pho is a popular choice for good reason.
The BYOB option makes Pho Viet a great spot for a dinner out with mates and there is no pressure to rush on with your meal or the wine you brought from Tesco Finest's selection.
Their wheelchair bathroom doubles as a storage area with unused stereos and mops in the corner but there is still enough space for a wheelchair.
This is the one type of sausage party that everyone can enjoy...except vegetarians of course. In Pitt Bros, you can order meat with a side of meat with another side of meat all from their American style BBQ kitchen and still crave their free 99 ice cream cone at the end.
Between brisket, ribs and smokey chicken, you'll get a fair dose of meat that will keep you satisfied until your next visit.
Their sausage is big and at no point do you lose quality in place of quantity. Keeping in line with their large portions, their wheelchair bathroom is absolutely massive. Its size is on a par with an overpriced bedsit on Camden Street. They even have two sinks if you feel like living it up like a lord. The only downside is that the tables are quite close together and with the shared seating arrangements, it will be difficult to move your wheelchair through when it's busy. And it is always busy.
Neon is probably the easiest way to sample Thai food in Dublin. The food isn't too complex so it will cater for everyone, even the boring eaters.
They operate under a quick ordering format up at the till but the staff often come to wheelchair users to take their order, which is nice. The menu is simple, affordable and tasty and you will never have a crap meal here.
Neon also use the shared seating format but they also have separate moveable tables and chairs that are better for people in wheelchairs. Their large wheelchair bathroom is also the gents toilet which adds a level of excitement to your visit if you're all woman.
